SAVE THE DATE - APRIL 21, 2012

SAVE THE DATE - April 21, 2012 FOR THE GCC.

3RD WEEKEND OF APRIL,

MAKE YOUR WEEKEND PLANS NOW.

THIS IS NOT INVITE ONLY.

LET US KNOW IF YOU WANT TO PLAY.

CUP IS MISSING 2

Not to worry gents I am doing just fine.Wow what another great year. I can't believe It's been ten years that I have faithfully served the GCC players association with pride and joy and yet I can't help but feel like it's been a lifetime. I know that you are all concerned about my well being but rest assured I am safe and sound. Please don't be too hard on captain Chuck for my disappearance as he was gracious enough to share me with his team and left me in capable hands.

As you may have noticed I did not make an appearance at the bar and during that time I reflected on the last 9 times I made the trip. I chose to leave you behind so I could get away and hopefully meet up with some of my idols: Stanley; Calder; Memorial and Sutherland, to see what it takes to be a worthy and monumental achievement.Here are some pics of me preparing me for my journey. As you can see I cleaned myself up, passport in hand and ready to go. I will send more as I make my way through my travels which should last me until the best cup finals are done.

THE CUP IS MISSING

The Cup has gone missing and continues to update us with "his" whereabouts:

Gents, Sorry it's been a while since my last communication but traveling can be very hectic as I am sure you are aware.

Turns out I got invited to the Players Championship tournament this past weekend and fell in love with the game. Couldn't wait to try it out so I made my way to the nearest driving range to see what i could do. As you can see from the pic they would only allow us to tee off from the synthetic mats due to heavy rain fall the night before.Not sure when I will make it back. Having too much fun.

10TH ANNUAL GREAT CANADIAN CLASSIC

Here are some of the important details that you need to know about the
tournament:
　
Date: April 16, 2011
　
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
　
Location: Ice Sports Etobicoke (Martingrove and 409) (Same arena)
　
Format: 6 teams, two pools (90 players, 6 goalies)
　
Fee: $125.00 (A slight fee increase from last year due to increasing costs and the addition of lunch)
　
Fee includes:
　
- 2 games guaranteed – FORMAT CHANGE – All teams are still guaranteed 2 round robin games. Teams that move on to the playoffs will still play up to 4 games total if they make the Finals. However, teams that do not make the playoffs will not have a Consolation game due to the change set out below.
　
- First Annual GCC Skills Competition (NEW) – We have removed the Consolation Finals and are replacing it with a Skills Competition. All players from the four teams that do not make the Finals will participate in the Skills Competition. It will take place near the end of the day after the second Semi-Final and before the Finals (in the old slot where the Consolation game used to be.) More details as to the format of the Skills Competition will follow at a later date.
　
- Hockey Jerseys and Socks (Uniforms to be provided – let us know if you may still have any of these as some tend to wander each year)
　
- Referees and timekeepers
　
- Buffet Lunch during the day (NEW)
　
- Post-Tournament Banquet incl. 2 complimentary beers
　
- Prizes
　
- Transportation from the Rink to Scallywag's in the heart of Toronto after the tournament.

READY TO GO

Gentlemen, last Thursday your dedicated and courageous Captains braved the annual Draft. While all the behind the scenes drama cannot be revealed, suffice to say that the Captains and their respective teams look ready to do battle.

From this point on the rosters are set in stone. Your Captains will be contacting you shortly with what will surely be inspiring emails in the call to arms for April 17. You will also notice that Dave Boriss is new to the role as Captain in place of Paul Blyskis who has decided to tour with a Pink Floyd cover band this Spring.


Please don't drink and drive from the rink - there will be a bus to take us to Scallywag's from the rink and we can leave our equipment in a locked room overnight. Quite frankly, the bus ride is always one of the key highlights. Your Captains will be polling to see who is in for the bus along with some other administrative details.


A couple points as reminders: During the day you are on your own for food and drink - keep fuelled accordingly as the day is a long one. Normal men's league rules apply, although any fighting gets you tossed from the tournament permanently. Friday night hangovers generally don't help, according to most reports, but we'll leave that decision-making to you.


See you on the 17th! The Convenors.

FINAL THOUGHTS FOR THE 2009 GCC

Well, there it is. A new slate of Captains gives us a new champion Captain and squad. Congratulations to Captain Dan Hawkins and his team on winning the 8th Annual Great Canadian Classic Hockey Tournament - perhaps the most dramatic Cup win in Great Canadian Classic history as well as the first Cup for the Ottawa franchise. And yes, for the record, we are aware that former Toronto Captain, Bud Kelly, won his 5th cup this year.

It seems to be taking longer to get this wrap up email out each year, but thanks for your patience, except for Ciupka who was probably wondering when the email would come out reminding everyone that he was now the winning Cup goalie two years in a row.

More seriously, thanks to everyone for making this year's GCC another fun day of playing hockey, hanging out, and miscellaneous adventure (the tailgate party waiting for the bus being one such adventure). Without the great spirit and love of the game as well as good times you all have, this would be a boring non-event.

Attached for your viewing pleasure are the stats from last Saturday. A huge thanks to the Stats Crew - Mike Doner and Matt Kindbom - for performing solid work in making this happen as a dynamic duo.

Thanks to all the players who donated swag - the names and companies are attached below (our apologies if we missed anyone). Thanks also to Jeff May and Scallywag's for providing the ideal post-GCC destination once again.

Although tentative now, please pencil in April 17 and 24, 2010 for the 9th Annual GCC, as it seems like we'll do this again. We'll hopefully confirm this in the fall sometime.

Thanks again from us - it was great seeing you on and off the ice, as per usual. The Convenors.

Britt, Cam
Lombard

Carsley, Doug
CGI

Dub, Paul
Dubwear

Flannagan, James
Ice Sports - Etobicoke

Mueller, Greg
AstraZeneca

Nowakowski, André
Miller Thomson

Sinclair, Adam
Barclays

Sinclair, Chuck
Sack, Mitchell

Watkin, Rick
Kubra

Hawkins, Dan
Scotiabank

May, Jeff
Scallywag's

Purvis, Jaime
Jov Funds

Burkom, Jack
Brookfield

2009 TEAM LISTS

OTTAWA

Ciupka, Mike (G)
Bowen, Ed
DeRuiter, Chris
Feehely, Jamie
Hawkins, Dan (C)
Ito, Shawn
Kelly, Chris
May, Jeff
Pettit, Andrew
Power, Pat
Roland, Petey
Scilipoti, Anthony
Seitz, Chris
Stott, Aubrey
Thomson, Scott
Wright, Coulter

TORONTO

Jong, Dave (G)
Amber, Dave
Barnard, Chris
Jones, Mike
Kennish, Ian
Larock, Dave
Larock, Gord
Mason, Dave
Miller, Brad
Moxon, James
Richards, Dave
Shulman, Jamie
Sinclair, Charlie (C)
Sinclair, Adam
Spidle, Geoff
Wilson, Darcy

MONTREAL

Kelly, Hayden (G)
Boriss, David
Carsley, Doug
Holy, Bill ©
De Pencier, Mark
Devine, Kevin
Ellingson, Elliot
Nowakowski, Andre
Cunningham, Mike
Foster, Martin
Gilday, Keith
Kay, Ian
Lee, Ryan
McIntosh, Ryan
McPherson, Matt
White, Pete

CALGARY

Vernon, Andrew (G)
Burkom, Jack
Chamberlain, Jiles
Armstrong, Mike ©
Davis, Tobin
Fraser, Brad
Kernaghan, Ed
Leschuk, Mike
McLean, Dennis
Montanino, Rob
Mueller, Greg
Nickel, Remi
O'Connor, Joe
Plaxton, Derek
Stevens, Jay
Weeks, Greg

VANCOUVER

Gupta, Vik (G)
Bowen, Guy
Britt, Cam
Brown, Matt
Carr, Mike
D'Iorio, Phil
Blyskis, Paul ©
Elliott, Jeff
Ferlejowski, Andrew
Foreman, Ken
Norris, Blair
Ryan, Steve
Schieman, Tony
Secnik, Will
Ward, Rich
Watkin, Rick

EDMONTON

Dellanno, Joe (G)
Anderson, Steve
Dub, Paul
Fortier, Dave
Holmberg, Matt
Iantorno, Rob
Keller, Sascha
List, Jamie
Machel, Craig
Munday, Rob
Potwin, Doug
Ryan, Clint
Purvis, Jaime ©
Styka, Chris
Toering, Dana
Walker, Chuck

Hopefully Andre's Last Message

The Rookie Captains have performed their first part of the task - drafting their squads. Next up, GCC day. If the Draft was any indication it should be a fun day, with a verbally competitive atmosphere (in the finest tradition of Captains past), and one Captain with ultimate bragging rights who will join the ranks of former champion Captains Doug Carsley, Bud Kelly, and Mahone Schieman.

Your Captains will be contacting you in the next little bit to plan the path to glory. In addition, they will also be asking some administrative questions about your attendance at the banquet, on the bus, and at Scallywag's. Please don't drink and drive from the rink - there will be a bus to take us to Scallywag's from the rink and we can leave our equipment in a locked room overnight. Quite frankly, the bus ride is always one of the key highlights.

A few points as reminders: During the day you are on your own for food and drink - keep fuelled accordingly as the day is a long one. Normal men's league rules apply, although any fighting gets you tossed from the tournament permanently. Don't heckle the Stats Crew. At the same time, don't be too friendly in supplying the Stats Crew with beverages, at least not before noon.

If anyone has swag that they can contribute for the Awards Table and Banquet, please let us know.

Other than that, we're looking forward to seeing you on the 18th. The Convenors.

Update...

Okay, the dust of phase one of this year's Great Canadian Classic has settled. Attached below is a spreadsheet that shows you everyone who is playing in this year's tournament along with their position. Some are marked as "FD" which means the first preference is forward but the player can play D and vice versa for "DF". Please let us know if we have your position marked wrong. As you will see, we have a large number of players from last year, some alumni returning after a brief absence, and some fresh faces, all adding up for a great day of hockey.

Before we get to the Captains, a special shout out to an original Convenor, Downtown Matt Brown who is finally taking a break from pharmaceutical fun in Florida to claim some glory on the ice at this year's GCC after a too long hiatus. Downtown, bring your tan but leave your thong behind.
And now the Captains. Firstly, thanks again to our previous Captains - Matt Boswell, Doug Carsley, Ian Charlton, Mark dePencier, Chris Kelly, and Mahone Schieman. They did an amazing job every year at the Draft and on Tournament Day. Theirs is a hard act to follow but we know that the following Captains are going to be able to do the job in fine fashion, if not as loud as Charlton:

Mike Armstrong - Easily one of the least funny guys around, thrives on thinking all day about bad jokes and using them with any flimsy excuse. We all sincerely hope that Donger's team is not a bad joke for the sake of the players he selects in the Draft.
.
Paul Blyskis - Obsessed with Pink Floyd since age 3, briefly supplanted by Jim Morrison and Led Zeppelin at ages 7 and 8 respectively, Blyskis finally brings a psychedelic edge to the GCC that the tournament had been missing. We just hope that his team will be able to shake out the cobwebs and focus during the games.

Dan Hawkins - Widely noted as never having won a Cup, Hawk is easily the wild card black sheep of the new Captains. We're hoping that the Captain role will be the motivational factor that had been missing from his quest, but only time will tell.

Bill Holy - A hockey chameleon if there ever was one, Bill returns to the GCC after being on injured reserve for the last couple years. Having previously been a goalie in the GCC and returning now as a player, he thinks he has the breadth of perspective to bring the Cup, but no one really takes this theory seriously.

Jaime Purvis - What can we say about this former Ironman award winner? Full of bluster, laughs a little too easily (although that can be reassuring for the confidence of people like Donger), and has a keen ambition to...we're not quite sure other than take the official GCC Bus to Scallywag's after the banquet.

Chuck Sinclair - A fiery redhead and on the confidence level threshold, Chuck once went four tournaments without winning a game and then he marched to the Cup. Can a leopard change his spots? Will the real Slim Sinclair show up? And who is he anyway? All we know is that Hawk is nervous...

So there you have it, the Eighth Annual GCC is shaping up with knowns and unknowns and known unknowns along with unknown knowns. The Draft will be held in early April, about two weeks before the GCC. As you know, the Draft is the key to the parity, and the fun, of the tournament. So, we ask that you advise us if your status changes for some reason before the Draft. We will be in touch again in the week leading up to the Draft. We look forward to seeing you on the ice and figuring out exactly what the new Captains bring to the table. The Convenors.

A Word From Andre.....

Gentlemen, 2009 is well underway and we are pleased to bring you the Eighth Annual Great Canadian Classic. Just to remind you, Mike Cunningham, Phil D'Iorio, and me, André Nowakowski. (Matt Brown has officially been relegated to the E Pool, although he has now donned a life preserver and is muttering something about wanting to play if Cunny will have him back.) It is vital that you read this whole email, especially the "Deadline" information - we don't want anyone missing out.
The date this year of the tournament is Saturday, April 18, 2009. If you CANNOT play, please advise us ASAP as there is once again an extensive waiting list of guys looking to get into this year's tournament as usual.
Just to refresh your memory, on April 12, 2008, 96 skaters on 6 Canadian
teams laced up for the Seventh Annual - and you were all a part of it. As with the previous tournaments, there was some exciting hockey, culminating with Captain Bud Kelly and his Toronto squad taking their 4th Cup, most ever in the history of GCC. All of this, of course, was much to the chagrin to Captain Charlton who came as close as he could to assembling a championship squad. Now, it's time to do it again.
However, let's first note the passing of an era and the dawn of a new beginning. As you may be aware, the Seventh Annual GCC marked the last appearance for Messrs. Boswell, Carsley, Charlton, DePencier, Kelly, and Schieman in their roles as Captain. (Dramatic pause and deep breath, a little teary eyed.) They were great Captains but the time has come for the torch to be passed. This presents us with the only really relevant Question for this year: Who will the Convenors choose as the new Captains? Supplementary Question #1: Will those potential Captains, realizing the magnitude of the task, accept the role of Captain? Supplementary Question #2: Will the old Captains be able to resist meddling and putting their paw prints over this GCC somehow? These are all questions that need answering, but first, the getting there:

THE DETAILS
Here are some of the important details that you need to know about the tournament:
Date: April 18, 2009
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Ice Sports Etobicoke (Martingrove and 409) (Same arena)
Format: 6 teams, two pools (90 players)
Fee: $120.00 (Same fee as last year)
Fee includes:
- 3 games guaranteed - 2 round robin, 1 playoff (the Finalists will play 4)(Note: We will keep the modified game length from last year: 3x10 minute stop time periods. Also, we are looking at further modifications which we will disclose when Cunny feels like it.)
- Hockey Jerseys and Socks (Uniforms to be provided – let us know if you may still have any of these as some tend to wander each year)
- Referees and timekeepers
- Post-Tournament Banquet incl. 2 complimentary beers
- Prizes
- Transportation from the Rink to Scallywag's in the heart of Toronto after the tournament.

THE DEADLINE
First, payment MUST be made in full by the deadline - there are no deposits this year. Your FULL tournament fee of $120.00 is due no later than Friday, February 19, 2009, two weeks from the date of this email. Second, your payment can ONLY be sent or given to André Nowakowski. You can send your cheque to André at 73 Highbourne Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5P 2J3. You may also pay via http://www.certapay.com/ – a number of you have used it in the past and it is pretty seamless. Once your full tournament fee has been received, you will be guaranteed your spot in the tournament. If your full fee is not received by by February 19, 2009, your spot will be opened up to those on the waiting list (and there are many). NO exceptions. None of this is negotiable. We will NOT chase you down for the fee - the onus is on you.
As in the past, your tournament fee is NON-REFUNDABLE.
For our records, please respond ASAP via email if you will be playing this year. If you know that you for sure will NOT be able to play this year,
please advise us ASAP.
Once the deadline has passed, we will send a confirmation email to those
who have sent us their payments.
Remember, all emails relating to the tournament will now be sent from this email address: greatcanadianclassic@gmail.com.

THE RULES
Just a few brief rules:
- Full equipment
- Non-contact
- No centre line for offsides
- General rules of hockey

THE DRAFT
There is little doubt that the Draft in each of the previous years has been a tremendous success, so we're going to stick to the Draft method for selecting teams. So remember, when you sign up for this tournament, you are signing up as a player. Once we have received all the entries, team captains will be chosen and the captains will hold a silent draft to pick the teams. This has the obvious advantage of distributing talent evenly among the teams. Hopefully the draft will once again help create competitive teams while giving you a chance to play with some buddies you know and some you don't.

THE TEAMS
The Great White North theme will continue with the same teams as always: Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Once again, one pool will be the Wales Conference and the other will be the Campbell Conference. Tradition matters.

THE EVENING
Keeping with the old school theme, we will have a banquet again. The banquet will take place in the sports bar upstairs at the arena where we'll engage in the age-old transition game - switching from playing hockey to fuelling up with beer and food and performing comprehensive post-tournament hockey analysis. Scallywag's will be the destination for this year's post banquet festivities with the Cup.

THE CHARITY
We're very excited let you know that we will again be making a donation on behalf of the tournament to the "Let's Learn Hockey" programme run via the Ontario Minor Hockey Foundation via the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. You can find out more about this programme at http://www.hockeyfoundation.ca/ and http://www.omha.net/flash.asp?page_id=279.
In short, the programme helps out kids with financial difficulties get outfitted with hockey gear, subsidize their hockey registration for a season, and attend a one day training camp. After last year's tournament we were able to donate $1,750 to the programme. All in all, we think this is still a great fit and we hope you do as well.

THE FANS
It seems as though our fan base has increased each year. Feel free to invite significant others, kids etc. to come check out the action and make the day a family affair, at least until the sun goes down. Keep in mind, some may like to treat this as a "boys" day so advise your fans of the various antics that might be witnessed, in addition to the stellar hockey. Nonetheless, it will be great to grow that fan base.
That's it for now. We're looking forward to seeing you again on the ice at
the Eighth Annual Great Canadian Classic on April 18, 2009. Talk to you soon. The Convenors.

APRIL 18, 2009

The Great Canadian Classic will be held on April 18, 2009. Mark that down in your calendars and tell your wives that you're busy that day. More information will follow.

FOLLOW UP

Well, it only took over a week to get you the wrap up this year's Great Canadian Classic, but here it is. Thanks to all of you for making it another great day. The Captains once again did a great job drafting and leading teams in another close tournament. Congratulations go, for the fourth, and last, time to Captain Bud Kelly and his Toronto squad for winning the GCC. A special note of congratulations must also go to Captain Mark de Pencier and the Edmonton squad for putting up a great battle despite only having 9 skaters for the championship game. As mentioned in an earlier email, we will be having a full changing of the guard in terms of Captains for next year so we wanted to thank Captains Boswell, Carsley, Charlton, de Pencier, Kelly, and Schieman for great job they have done in making the GCC a great tournament every year with the right doses of competitiveness, fun, and yes, drama. The Search Committee will be working diligently over the summer in looking for the next slate of Captain candidates.

Thanks goes to the Stats Crew, notably Mike Doner and Matt Kindbom (with some help from Richard Harvey), who did a great job in a shorthanded situation as we normally have a crew of at least 4 guys for the whole day. Attached for your viewing pleasure are the stats from the day. Not surprisingly, the stats from the last game are a bit thin but we will try to fill the gaps for the historical records.

Thanks also to all the players who donated swag for the prize table.

Finally, the arena cannot yet commit to a date for the Eighth Annual Great Canadian Classic next year just yet so for now please hold April 11 and 18 and we will hopefully confirm with you in the fall.

Thanks again for making the GCC successful again. Please let us know if you have any suggestions about how to improve the tournament. Have a great summer. The Convenors.

Deep Thoughts, by Ian Charlton

How could I have appeared at Scallywag’s and listen to Bud wax fantastic on his Championship while not taking responsibility for doing what any real Captain would have done? Forfeited or at the very least tank the final and give the Championship to Sparks and his four man bench! I mean for God’s sake man have you know sense of what is right or just? To say nothing of what should have been a tournament misconduct for taking a dive, getting called on it and then not owning up. If the conveners (two of which witnessed the play and we’re on my club) had any stones Bud should have been sent home right then and there. No different then Schieman’s sentence for spearing of years gone by.


Truth is I was overcome with emotion about our semis and had to retire to my private bottle of tequila and monte cristos in the bowels of my garage….the resulting carnage was not pretty. Found naked, covered in spring clean-up leaves and garbage by my 7 year old……ohhh, the horror!


Bud – you owe me and the other Captains an apology. I cannot applaud or respect your 2008 Championship. It was not secured in the spirit of sportsmanship and as such I do not recognize its validity.


Nice.
Captain e

2008 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

SEVENTH Annual Great Canadian Classic Hockey Tournament

April 12, 2008


CAMPBELL CONFERENCE

CALGARY FLAMES
MONTREAL CANADIENS
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

WALES CONFERENCE

VANCOUVER CANUCKS
OTTAWA SENATORS
EDMONTON OILERS

Time Room Match-Ups Room

8:15 AM Room 1 Edmonton vs Vancouver Room 3
9:15 AM Room 2 Toronto vs Calgary Room 4
10:15 AM Room 1 Edmonton vs Ottawa Room 3
11:15 AM Room 4 Toronto vs Montreal Room 2
12:15 PM Room 3 Ottawa vs Vancouver Room 1
1:15 PM Room 2 Montreal vs Calgary Room 4
2:15 PM Room 1 Semi-Final A: Campbell 2nd vs Wales 1st Room 3
3:15 PM Room 2 Semi-Final B: Campbell 1st vs Wales 2nd Room 4
4:15 PM Room 1 Consolation : Campbell 3rd vs Wales 3rd Room 3
5:15 PM Room 2 Final: Winner Semi A vs Winner Semi B Room 4

TEAM LISTS

THE DRAFT WAS CONDUCTED ON FRIDAY, MARCH 29TH. THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.....

TORONTO

Ciupka, Mike (G)
Arnold, Scott
Barnard, Chris
Fraser, Brad
Kennish, Ian
McAskile, Ryan
Plaxton, Derek
Reid, John
Ryan, Clint
Kelly,Chris (C)
Spidle, Geoff
Styka, Chris
Thomson, Scott
Walker, Chuck
Ward, Rich
White, Pete

MONTREAL

Kelly, Hayden (G)
Charlton,Ian (C)
Adams, Craig
Armstrong, Mike
Boriss, David
Borron, Randy
Foreman, Ken
Nowakowski, Andre
Cunningham, Mike
Gibson, Grant
Hawkins, Dan
Leschuk, Mike
McLean, Dennis
McPherson, Matt
Muller, Dave
Norris, Blair

EDMONTON

Dellanno, Joe (G)
Atkins, Mark
Dub, Paul
Gibson, Bryce
Gilday, Keith
Gilday, Neil
Keller, Sascha
Kernaghan, Ed
Larock, Dave
Munday, Rob
O'Regan, Paul
Potwin, Doug
Depencier,Mark (C)
Purdy, Jon
Purvis, Jaime
Toering, Dana

VANCOUVER

O'Hara, Finn (G)
Atkinson, Johnny
D'Iorio, Phil
Burkom, Jack
Champagne, Yvan
Elliott, Jeff
Feehely, Jamie
Iantorno, Rob
Mason, Dave
Sainsbury, Greg
Scilipoti, Anthony
Tony Schieman (C)
Stott, Aubrey
Tamblyn, Blair
Watkin, Rick
Wilson, Erik

OTTAWA

Gupta, Vik (G)
Bell, John
Bowen, Guy
Britt, Cam
Destunis, Peter
Ferlejowski, Andrew
May, Jeff
Mueller, Greg
Roland, Mike
Roland, Petey
Ryan, Steve
Boswell,Matt (C)
Sinclair, Adam
Sinclair, Charlie
Weeks, Greg
Wilson, Darcy

CALGARY

Mercier, Marc (G)
Blyskis, Paul
Davis, Tobin
Devine, Kevin
Ferguson, Ron
Foster, Martin
Carsley, Doug (C)
Kay, Ian
Larock, Gord
Machel, Craig
McIntosh, Ryan
Miller, Brad
O'Connor, Joe
Power, Pat
Shulman, Jamie
Wright, Coulter

Where is the Trash Talk?

The reminder email was sent out ages ago, the real email went out yesterday. There's one comment on the blog, something pathetic from Danny Hawkins. Come on fellas, let's get it going!

The Next Level

Congratulations Convenor Cunningham on taking it to the next level with this vital blog to get us through to the next tournament! The question remains, as you have rightly posed previously, where is Matt Brown?

Andre's Wrap Up

Well everyone, recovery is getting slower after the tournament as is the length of time to send out the wrap up email. Once again, thanks to everyone who participated, the Great Canadian Classic appears to have been a success on and off the ice in its Sixth year running.

Congratulations to Captain Bud Kelly who has now won the Cup half the time the GCC has been in existence.

Congratulations to Captain Ian Charlton for overcoming unbelievable odds to finally get to the Finals – the Cup is surely destined to be his next year.

We suffered a number of injuries this year which may or may not be a sign of our age. The ones that most stuck out were Crawford Smith and his hamstring, Matt Reid and his dislocated shoulder, and Bob Elliott and his dislocated shoulder – good luck with the healing process guys.

Time is definitely moving on and it seems that the Great Canadian Classic is due for some modification as we head into the Seventh Annual. (Yes, we are assuming that the consensus is to keep the GCC running for a bit longer – we trust you will let us know when it is time to stop.)

So, we would love to have your input about every component of the day. To that end, we
have created an online survey that we would like you to take 5 minutes to complete at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=86583714815. Most questions are straight forward and multiple choice while the last two questions allow you to give us your ideas about how to improve the tournament, keeping in mind that, with some exceptions, we’re starting to push 40.

Thanks to all the Captains for inspiring this (and all those who have chipped in with ideas the past couple of years) but particularly Captain Doug Carsley who helped put the survey together.

Thanks to all the players and their respective organizations for contributing the prizes this year.

Put a hold on April 12, 2008 for the Seventh Annual and we will try to confirm that date early in the fall.

Thanks again for making it a great day and hope to see you no later than next April!

The Convenors.

The Stats Crew

STATS CREW

Doner, Mike

One of the few people from Orillia who can’t play hockey, Doner’s enthusiasm for the game is a key asset on the Stats Crew. Whether it be tracking shots on net or ordering beer, Doner puts the “t” in team player. He can usually be spotted wearing his Hockey Night In Canada shirt and singing Stompin’ Tom Connors loudly.

Gundy, Harry

Harry doesn't bring much to the Stats Table, other than a good attitude, a fresh pack of smokes, and a fondness for the pints. Harry can usually be found wandering around the rink all day, muttering incomprehensiblenonsense to anyone who will listen. While his hockey knowledge is lacking, his sense of humour and his generosity with his butts keep getting himinvited back.

Turner, Andrew

Andrew is by far the Stats Crew leader, making sure that the whole team is in on the game when the first puck is dropped at 8:00 a.m. And then when the first pitcher is served at 11:00 a.m. A non-skater himself, Andrew delights in the pratfalls of others on the ice.

Harvey, Rich

Harvey, fighting hard to shake off that feeling that he is second fiddle to Andrew, brings a much valued technical expertise to the Stats Crew. He also offers moral support to Andrew at 11:00 a.m. and thereafter until about 7:30 p.m. at which time they part ways, figuratively if not literally. Known as a self-professed basketball guru, Harvey brings some much needed hard court know how to the Stats Crew.

Pady, Ian

Pady ties the Stats Crew together, much like the rug tied the room together in “The Big Lebowski”. Through thick and thin, and the odd pitcher, Pady keeps his focus, and the Stats Crew’s focus, on the stats and award selection tasks at hand. His dedication is unparalleled. Rumour has it he may have given up a spot in the GCC to stay full time on the Stats Crew. If only he liked better music.

Weiss, Bernhard

How many non-hockey playing guys move to Toronto from Austria just to be on the Stats Crew for the GCC? None, but Bernhard is close. Having moved from Austria a couple of years ago, Bernhard became a hard and fast student of hockey, thus earning his way onto the Crew. He also likes beer which helps. For a while. Berhnard, danke schon.